Afra Saeed Ahmad

Afra Saeed Ahmad

Afra Saeed Ahmad

Associate Professor

Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Inclusive leadership, organizational effectiveness, and employee well-being in diverse work environments.

Afra Saeed Ahmad is an Associate Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Director of the Master’s in Professional Studies (MPS) Program in Applied Industrial-Organizational Psychology at George Mason University. A scholar-practitioner with more than fifteen years of experience across the United States and the Gulf region, she specializes in evidence-based management education. At George Mason, she leads one of the nation’s largest professionally oriented I-O psychology graduate programs, overseeing curriculum design, faculty development, and experiential learning initiatives for working professionals.

Dr. Ahmad’s research examines diversity, inclusion, and identity in organizational contexts, with a focus on stigma, discrimination, incivility, and leadership effectiveness. Her scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals including Journal of Management Studies, Personnel Psychology, and Journal of Organizational Behavior, as well as practitioner outlets such as Harvard Business Review. She is also co-authoring a forthcoming book, Concise Overview of Organizational Psychology: Understanding Human Behavior in Organizations, aimed at MBA, Executive MBA, and executive education audiences.

An award-winning educator, Dr. Ahmad has received George Mason University’s highest honors for both Teaching Excellence and Mentoring Excellence. Her teaching emphasizes experiential, client-based learning through consulting projects, capstone experiences, and applied research partnerships with organizations across sectors. She has taught extensively across undergraduate, graduate, executive, and online modalities.

Dr. Ahmad brings significant international and regional expertise to her work. A Fulbright alumna to the United Arab Emirates, she previously served as Assistant Professor of Management at Zayed University, where she taught business and human resource management courses and mentored Emirati students in research and professional development. Her cross-cultural scholarship and teaching reflect a deep commitment to developing inclusive leadership capacity and organizational effectiveness in global contexts.

NOTE: Dr. Ahmad is not currently taking any doctoral students. 

Current Research

Dr. Afra Saeed Ahmad’s research investigates how organizational systems, leadership practices, and social norms shape responses to difference and dissent at work. Her scholarship examines how bias operates in everyday interactions and decision processes, with particular attention to how context, power, and organizational structures influence inclusion, evaluation, and employee voice. Methodologically, her work spans experimental designs, field studies, and large-scale quantitative syntheses, allowing her to address both micro-level interactions and broader organizational patterns.

Her ongoing research extends these questions into contemporary workplace challenges, including leadership behavior in teams, identity-related threat and psychological safety, and organizational responses to stigma and disclosure. She is also engaged in work that bridges academic and applied contexts, translating research findings into guidance for leaders and organizations seeking to strengthen equity, trust, and well-being. This body of work contributes to scholarly conversations in organizational behavior and psychology while informing evidence-based practice in management and leadership development.

Selected Publications

Ahmad, A. S., King, E. B., Lindsey, A. P., Sabat, I. E., Phetmisy, C. A., & Anderson, A. J. (2021). Interpersonal outcomes of religious identity management at work. Journal of Management Studies, 58(8), 2207–2239. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12758 

Ahmad, A. S., Anderson, A. J., King, E. B., & Gilrane, V. L. (2019). Subtle and overt behaviors toward ethnic minority leaders and the moderating role of competence. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 26, 372–388. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051819859289

Jones, K. P., Sabat, I. E., King, E. B., Ahmad, A. S., McCausland, T. C., & Chen, T. (2017). Isms and schisms: A meta-analysis of the prejudice–discrimination relationship across racism, sexism, and ageism. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(7), 1076–1110.

Ahmad, A. S., Sabat, I. E., & King, E. B. (2018). The upsides of disclosing our religion, sexual orientation, or parental status at work. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/03/research-the-upsides-of-disclosing-your-religion-sexual-orientation-or-parental-status-at-work

King, E. B., Hebl, M. R., Morgan, W.B., & Ahmad, A. S. (2012). Field experiments on sensitive organizational topics. Organizational Research Methods, 16, 501-521

King, E. B., & Ahmad, A. S. (2010). An experimental field study of interpersonal discrimination toward Muslim job applicants. Personnel Psychology, 63(4), 881–906.

Grants and Fellowships

Selected Grants & Fellowships

  • Fulbright Fellowship – United Arab Emirates ($36,000)
  • Granted Research Incentive Fund (PI), 300,000 AED
  • Policy Research Incentive Award (PI), 20,000 AED
  • Critical Language Enhancement Award for Arabic ($8,000)
  • CHSS AI Curriculum Enhancement Grant ($1,500)
  • Inclusive Excellence Curriculum Enhancement Grant ($5,000)

Courses Taught

MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

  • Human Resource Management
  • Recruitment and Selection
  • Compensation & Performance Management
  • Comparative Human Resource Management
  • People and Organizations 

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY-GRADUATE

  • Psychological Research Methods
  • Employee Selection
  • Practicum in Applied Psychology

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY-UNDERGRADUATE

  • Social Psychology 
  • Research Methods in Psychology
  • Research Methods Writing Lab
  • Industrial-Organizational Psychology
  • Professional Issues in Social Sciences: College to Career

Education

George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

  • Ph.D. Industrial/Organizational Psychology                         May 2016
  • M.A. Industrial/Organizational Psychology                          May 2012
  • B.A. Psychology (Honors) & Minor in Islamic Studies          May 2008

Recent Presentations

Ahmad, A. S., Hatif, H. S. (2026, April). Mega-threats: The experiences of religious employees. Symposium presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, United States.

McCauley, R., Liang, Y., & Ahmad, A. S. (2026, April). Leader sexual harassment bystander intervention, gratitude, and leader effectiveness. Poster presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, United States.

Henderson, A. A. (Chair), Ahmad, A. S., Prasad, J., Smith, C. E., & Su, S. (2026, April). Assessments in an era of AI and evolving technology. Panel and workshop presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, United States.

Ahmad, A. S., Anderson, A. (Co-Chair), Avery, D., Ashby, J., Ferdman, B., King, E., Shipley, S., & Woo, V. (2025, April). From DEI to D and I: What does dropping the “E” mean for diversity and inclusion? Panel presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.

McCauley, R. (Chair), Ullah, H. (Chair), Ditursi, A., Frerichs, V., Kiproff-Downer, L., Latham, G. P., Merlini, K. P., & Ahmad, A. S. (2025, April). Breaking barriers: Support strategies for non-traditional caregivers. Panel presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.

Perez, A., McCauley, R., & Ahmad, A. S. (2025, April). Same résumé, different voice: A qualitative look at women’s accents and hireability. Poster presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.

Ahmad, A. S., Durrance, A. L., & McCauley, R. (2024, September). Combatting neurodiversity discrimination in the workplace. Workshop presented at the Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion Conference, Seville, Spain.

Ahmad, A. S., Howardson, G., Johnson, L., LaPort, K., Ristow, T., Ryer, J., & Schmidt, A. M. (2024, April). Preparing the next generation of I-O practitioners for large language models. Panel presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, United States.

In the Media

2024 OSCAR Mentoring Excellence Award. (2024, April). Retrieved from https://chss.gmu.edu/articles/20705?utm_source=chss-digest&utm_medium=mail&utm_campaign=chss-digest-may-2-2024 

Announcing the Stars of 2024: Our Outstanding Achievement Award Winners! (2024, April) Retrieved from https://hr.gmu.edu/announcing-the-stars-of-2024-our-outstanding-achievement-award-winners/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0ISBv9kO4I 

Limitless Possibilities (2023, November). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFMNWLiEUa8&t=2s 

Community & Catalysts: Achievements, Awards, and Innovations presented by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (2023, November). Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/883342418 

CHSS Distinguished Alumni Faculty-Ahmad (2023, November). Retrieved from https://chss.gmu.edu/2023-award-recipients/chss-distinguished-alumni-faculty-ahmad 

CHSS Distinguished Alumni Faculty-Ahmad. (2023, October). Retrieved from https://chss.gmu.edu/2023-award-recipients/chss-distinguished-alumni-faculty-ahmad 

Navigating the Virtual Classroom: Faculty Perspectives with Online Learning. (2023, July). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IFTUGRpAsg